James Gleason
James Austin Gleason (born May 23, 1882 in New York City , New York - † April 12, 1959 in Los Angeles , California ) was an American actor, playwright and screenwriter. The successful supporting actor was particularly specialized in the depiction of seemingly hardened characters with a soft core.
Life
James Gleason played in various theater companies during his holidays as a child. At the age of 13 he earned his living doing small jobs such as a delivery boy, printer's assistant, lift boy and as a temporary worker in an electrical goods store. At the age of 16, Gleason joined the United States Army and served three years in the Philippines . He then began his professional acting career at the theater, including a guest appearance in London for two years . He starred in 15 productions on Broadway in his hometown of New York between 1914 and 1928. Together with Robert Armstrong , Gleason also had his own radio sitcom called Gleason and Armstrong in the early 1930s . The character actor came to Hollywood towards the end of the silent film era, when he was already in middle age. His first film was The Count of Ten (1927) at Universal Studios . Gleason, who had also worked as a playwright in the theater , was one of the screenwriters of the musical film The Broadway Melody (1929), which won the Oscar for best picture at the second Academy Awards . He also made a minor cameo on The Broadway Melody . He also co-wrote the 1934 drama Change of Heart, starring Janet Gaynor .
The gaunt, bald-headed Gleason with a gruff voice was primarily specialized in serious and tough characters with a warm and lovable core. An example of this was the role of a cynical editor-in-chief in Frank Capra's Here Is John Doe (1941), who dismisses numerous employees and works for a very wealthy entrepreneur with dictatorial intentions, but at the end of the film shows his human side and is disgusted by his boss's plans tells. Another hallmark of his characters was the New York background. In the six-part crime series about the detective Hildegarde Withers, he stood by the detectives as police inspector Oscar Piper. He also played the role of the authoritarian police commissioner in many other films, for example at the end of Capra's classic comedy Arsen and Lace Cap from 1944. A year later he played a milk truck driver on vacation for love , which the main characters Judy Garland and Robert Walker in matters Marriage instructs.
On vacation for love , his film wife was his actual wife Lucile Gleason (1888-1947), with whom he was married from 1905 until her death. Her son was the actor Russell Gleason , who died in 1945 under unexplained circumstances in a fall from a building. In the late 1930s, the acting family had their own little film series about the Higgins Family . James played the family patriach Joe Higgins, Lucile his wife and Russell his son. One of Gleason's other successes was the portrayal of a boxing manager on vacation from heaven , for which he was nominated for an Oscar for Best Supporting Actor in 1941 . In the 1950s, Gleason was increasingly seen in guest roles on television. In 1955 he played the role of Birdie Steptoe in Charles Laughton's legendary, only directing Night of the Hunter at the side of Robert Mitchum , Shelley Winters and Lillian Gish . Gleason's role was an old, adorable-quirky widower who cannot help two children threatened by Robert Mitchum's character in the film because he has drowned his grief in alcohol. He gave his farewell performance a year before his death alongside Spencer Tracy in The Last Hurray . In total, he made over 160 film and television appearances.
James Gleason died of asthma in 1959 at the age of 76 and was buried in Holy Cross Cemetery in Culver City , California .
Filmography (selection)
- 1922: Polly of the Follies
- 1929: The Broadway Melody - also screenplay
- 1931: The Courage to Luck (A Free Soul)
- 1932: Who is right here? (Lady and Gent)
- 1933: Mister Mugg
- 1935: Heroes of Today (West Point of the Air)
- 1936: The Ex-Mrs. Bradford
- 1937: Manhattan Merry-Go-Round
- 1938: The Higgins Family
- 1941: The Heartbreaker (Affectionately Yours)
- 1941: This is John Doe (Meet John Doe)
- 1941: Vacation From Heaven (Here Comes Mr. Jordan)
- 1941: Tanks a Million
- 1941: Babes on Broadway
- 1942: The Queen of Broadway (My Gal Sal)
- 1942: Six Fates (Tales of Manhattan)
- 1943: Fight in the Clouds (A Guy Named Joe)
- 1943: Crash Dive
- 1944: Pinky and Curly (Once Upon A Time)
- 1944: Keys of the Kingdom (The Keys of the Kingdom)
- 1944: Arsenic and Old Lace (Arsenic and Old Lace)
- 1945: The Daring Adventures of Captain Eddie (Captain Eddie)
- 1945: Vacation for Love (The Clock)
- 1945: A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn)
- 1947: Every Woman Needs an Angel (The Bishop's Wife)
- 1947: A goddess on earth (Down to Earth)
- 1948: A horse named October (The Return of October)
- 1950: Laugh and Cry with Me (Riding High)
- 1950: The Yellow Cab Man
- 1950: A charming flail (Key to the City)
- 1951: I'll See You in My Dreams
- 1952: We're Not Married (We're Not Married!)
- 1952: What Price Glory
- 1953: A Woman's Spicy Years (Forever Female)
- 1954: The Assassin (Suddenly)
- 1955: The Night of the Hunter (The Night of the Hunter)
- 1956: You should still hang today (Star in the Dust)
- 1957: The Devil's Wages (Man in the Shadow)
- 1957: Gold from a Hot Throat (Loving You)
- 1958: Five in one fell swoop (Rock-a-Bye Baby)
- 1958: The Last Hurray (The Last Hurray)
Web links
- James Gleason in the Internet Movie Database (English)
- James Gleason in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
- James Gleason in the nndb (English)
- James Gleason in the database of Find a Grave (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ Biography by Rotten Tomatoes Character actor James Gleason usually played tough-talking, world-weary guys with a secret heart-of-gold.
- ↑ James Gleason in the Internet Broadway Database (English)
personal data | |
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SURNAME | Gleason, James |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Gleason, James Austin (full name) |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American actor, playwright, and screenwriter |
DATE OF BIRTH | May 23, 1882 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | New York City , New York , USA |
DATE OF DEATH | April 12, 1959 |
Place of death | Los Angeles , California , USA |